Every year or so, Danwei chooses the best blogs about China in English and Chinese to be Model Workers. The winners are chosen by Danwei's Central Committee; no voting or democracy of any kind is involved.

The focus tends to be on media and other subjects covered by Danwei, so there are few purely personal blogs. This year, we publish the Olympic edition of our Model Workers list.

There are a few newcomers on this year's list, while we've regrettably had to remove some old favorites that have stopped updating.

== China news aggregators and translations from Chinese ==

* Fool's Mountain: Blogging for China
This new collaborative blog is a lively forum for debate. Posts mix original opinion pieces with translations from Chinese online sources and print media. It is run by Chinese professionals living in the US.

Global Voices China section
Global Voices translates and aggregates blogs from around the world, with the emphasis on developing countries. Global Voices co-founder Rebecca MacKinnon's interest in China has helped to make the China section of the site one of the most active, with frequent contributions by John Kennedy, Kelly Proctor, and Bob Chen.

ESWN
The king of China bloggers, Roland Soong is a one man media powerhouse who updates ESWN almost every day with translations from a huge variety of Chinese language sources, together with perceptive, sometimes quirky commentary about politics and media in Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Soong is a professional statistician. His day job involves elucidating or tearing apart competitors' analyses and survey reporting for a media buying agency, so he has the technical skills to destroy arguments based on the erroneous use of statistics.

China Digital Times
Bloggers often call this website CDT. It's updated daily with summaries and links to stories about China in the Western media, and an increasing number of translations from Chinese media. CDT is a project of the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley. Blocked in China.

China Media Project
A project of Hong Kong University Journalism School, the China Media Project is an excellent source for viewpoints on Chinese media regulation and new media trends. Contributor David Bandurski translates influential opinion columns and offers insightful analysis of the regulatory landscape.

* Mei-Zhong Guanxi
Anton Lee Wishik II, an American who lives in Shanghai, translates opinion pieces from the Chinese media and offers his own analysis of their arguments.

* chinaSMACK
Strange stuff people are talking about on Chinese online forums; this site translates BBS threads on the latest memes and hot topics. (updated 2008.08.20)

== Blogs of China-related journalists ==

Richard Spencer
The Beijing correspondent for Britain's Daily Telegraph, Spencer is an amusing commentator on Chinese current affairs and what it is like covering them for a foreign newspaper. The comments sections attracts people who can spell and write adult English, which is rare amongst China blogs.

Tim Johnson
Tim Johnson is a journalist for McClatchy Newspapers. About half of this blog is devoted to stories currently in the Chinese news; the other half presents an interesting look behind the scenes at a reporter going about the business of being a China correspondent, from setting up interviews, to pulling together sources, to getting hauled in for a lecture from the authorities.

Shanghai Scrap
Adam Minter is a writer whose twin focuses are Chinese Catholicism and the scrap trade. He's also got a keen eye for lazy and irresponsible journalism in the Chinese and foreign press.

The TIME China blog
A blog written by Time's China correspondents. The posts are frequently excellent; skip the comments section.

Black and White Cat
Thoughtful commentary on China news and occasional revelations from the corridors of CCTV 9, the English language channel of the State broadcaster.

China Herald
The blog of a Dutch former foreign correspondent turned entrepreneur, China Herald has been a fixture China's English language blog scene since the early days. Quirky comments and lots of links to stories about media, media regulation and business.

Access Asia Weekly Snarkfest
Access Asia is a research firm run by good writers with a specialization in consumer goods and the retail business. They also produce an irreverent weekly newsletter, available on a link from the Access Asia homepage (no permalink), or you can subscribe to an email version of it by sending a message to info@access-asia.info.

* Thomas Crampton
Media, tech and business in Asia by a former IHT correspondent who also posts to Danwei.

* James Fallows
Fallows is a correspondent for The Atlantic and has written some informative articles on China for that magazine. His blog is a mix of astute social commentary, wonky tech stuff, and photos of Beijing's air quality. (updated 2008.08.20)

== Olympic Blogs ==

Many western news organizations have launched China-focused blogs in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics. It's a bit too soon to tell whether they'll have staying power (or even if they plan to), so calling them "model workers" seems . Instead, we'll present them with the Staff of Media, specially created for the practice of journalism in China during the Olympics.

Countdown to BeijingNewsweek's China blog. Though nominally related to the Olympics, its posts cover a whole range of social issues. Jonathan Ansfield's blogging home has moved here from the China Digital Times. The magazine also recently launched Beijing Beat, which is devoted exclusively to the Olympics.

Blogging Beijing
A Seattle Times hosted blog by Fulbright scholar Daniel Beekman. Started nine months before the opening of the Beijing Games, the blog includes quirky commentary and observations on pre-Olympic Beijing. Final Post: 2008.08.24

James Reynolds' China
BBC hosted blog by James Reynolds, the BBC’s Beijing correspondent, with thoughts on day-to-day events and Olympic coverage.

China Journal
The Wall Street Journal's China blog, edited by Sky Canaves. It features a daily roundup of other interesting articles posts on English-language blogs about China.

== Advertising, marketing and PR ==

Imagethief
This American PR professional arrived in Beijing by way of Singapore and writes a very funny blog about public relations, communications, the tech industry, and life in China.

Digital Watch
News from and analysis of the world of digital marketing and media from Kaiser Kuo and others at the ad agency Ogilvy's China offices.

Sam Flemming
Commentary on word of mouth and brands on the Chinese Internet, by the CEO of CIC Data, a company that analyzes and quantifies online chatter on behalf of multinational companies.

== Law and intellectual property ==

China Law Blog
A blog about business law in China by Dan Harris, based in Seattle, and Steve Dickinson who lives in Shanghai. Both are experienced lawyers whose firm has significant amounts of work in China.

IP Dragon
A blog that tracks news about intellectual property in China, including copyright, patent and trademark law and IPR enforcement.

== Business, finance and technology ==

Silicon Hutong
David Wolf is a very sharp consultant who works in the technology, media and telecom industries in China. His blog covers his areas of professional interest and, once in a while, some general China stuff.

China Web 2.0 Review
A Chinese view of the Internet business and Internet startups, China Web 2.0 Review is written by two Chinese guys who work in the industry, and presents clearly thought-out posts about new developments. A valuable resource for anyone interested in Internet innovation in China.

Managing the DragonMr China by Tim Clissold is an entertaining book about China and business. The 'Mr China' of the title is a charismatic investment banker who first came here in 1992, was smitten, and then employed Clissold to help him lose a lot of money. Now, several years after the publication of the book, Mr China has now revealed himself to be Jack Perkowski, and he is apparently now making boatloads of money. Perkowski has written a book called Managing the Dragon, and he also runs the Managing the Dragon blog.

* CNReviews
Views on China and the Chinese Internet by a crew of young tech entrepreneurs living in China.

* Andrew Lih
A fine blog on Wikipedia issues, the Great Firewall, and other China and Web2.0-related things. He may not update as regularly as some blogs, but he is nonetheless a regular read for us.

* This is China
Bill Dodson writes entertaining and informative accounts of doing business in Suzhou and more far-flung areas of the country.

== Environment and corporate social responsibility ==

China Dialogue
Environmental issues in China. Edited by Isabel Hilton, this blog has a distinguished editorial board, and features a completely-bilingual website - all articles are published in both Chinese and English, and reader comments are translated by the blogging team.

* China's Green Beat
A website and video series providing information, education, and entertainment concerning China’s environment. Centered around a series of short videos on the environment produced by the "Green Brothers," an American Fulbright scholar and a young Chinese environmentalist.

== Academic and Literary blogs ==

Jottings from the Granite Studio
"A Qing historian reads the newspaper...notes from a student of China and Chinese history" reads the self-description. Readable, historically-informed commentary on current events is mixed with stories from China's past. "The Historical Record" is a this-day-in-history feature that gets posted periodically. The blogger also occasionally posts at the Peking Duck.

* The China Beat
A group blog whose contributors are academics and writers with a connection to China. The posts are always fascinating, and cover Chinese media, contemporary life, western media and publications about China, and of course the Olympics.

Frog in a Well
Historians blog about China. The posts often include old photos, scans of old documents, and other interesting artifacts of history. The updates may not be frequent, but each one is a gem.

* Cup of Cha
Josh, who used to edit the Daily Tea Leaves blog at China Expat, now posts amusing commentary about Chinese news and life in Beijing.

Shanghaiist
Part of the Gothamist franchise, this group blog publishes Chinese media news, translations from the local media, and news about the Shanghai expat party scene. The editor of the Shanghai site is Dan Washburn.

Sinosplice
Language, comedy, and life in Shanghai. This blog has been around for years and has an active, good-natured comments section. (added 2008.09)

* The New Dominion
News and information about China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Also, translations of The Awakened Land, a historical novel published in 1985 by the Uyghur author Abdurehim Tiläshüp Ötkür.

Mutant Palm
Incisive commentary on politics, military affairs, and the Chinese media. The blogger used to be based in Xinjiang and still occasionally posts about the region.

== Blog Directories ==

For more interesting blogs, we suggest you consult the following directories:

China Blog List
The master index of China-related blogs. Cool maps and search tools. Run by John of Sinosplice, a 'non political look at life in China' and one of the oldest existing blogs about China in English.

Chinalyst
Chinalyst, run by FiLi of Filination, aggregates a huge number of China-related blogs.

Hao Hao report
A Digg-like aggregator that covers China-related information from a wide variety of sources. It has a slick interface that's been given a couple face-lifts over the last year.

The Danwei Model Worker badge is adapted from an old model worker pin issued by Wuxing County, Zhejiang. Founded in 1912 from the merger of three Qing Dyansty counties, Wuxing ceased to exist in 1981 when it was absorbed into Huzhou City. The image was taken from a thread (since deleted) on the Old Badges BBS (陈陈徽章论坛).

There are currently 30 Comments for Olympic Model Workers: The best of the China blogs.

Comments on Olympic Model Workers: The best of the China blogs

The great danger in dong this is that you invariably end up missing many deserving folks-- especially the newcomers. You also look like you are kissing the ass of blogs that know or pimp Danwei (OF COURSE you guys rock!) and there is more than one reference to a blog(s) that should have been retired a long time ago.
And even though it is good to see popular blogs like ESNW and Opposite End of China next to under-subscribed blogs like Responsible China and Black and White Cat, and bezdomny ex patria this smacks of nepotism and ongoing expat elitist BS. Ditch it.

Yeah, I'd second Charlie McElwee's China Environmental Law Blog. No matter what country you're in the state of the environment is dire, and Charlie discusses the environment with wit and humor. And between the wit and humor are posts backed up with some serious insight and substantive analysis.

That list sort of sucked. Why not call it a slightly Alltop list. And Alltop sucks hugely.

Not a single business blog. No ChinaLawBlog is not business, their noise ratio has mushroomed in the past year. ChinnaEconomicReview? Recommending them raises the question whether you are following economics in China, as they're clearly not.

China Business Network is no more than an experiment in magic: have nothing, make something.

So critical without good ideas? I have no agendas to push (nor no blogs), I simply feel this is not more than an Alltop/Twitterati collection of blogs that (aside from a few excellent ones listed) muster no more than mediocre reading, thoughts and well, anything.

Danwei getting complacent/lazy? Or just part of the 'scene' and not challenging any boundaries. Name a category and I have a blog being more insightful, and both being more accessible for the casual reader and more specific for the 'China hand'. China Business Network? Please...

Why anon email address and posting through Tor? Because the China blogging scene is so incestuous a criticism at Danwei would be death for almost all English language bloggers (pro and am) given is not on the 'preferred list' (desired or not).

First off, thanks for putting us on there. Much appreciated. Second, it's a great list. Third, I would advocate for your adding the following three additional law blogs:

1. China Hearsay. Beijing based Stan Abrams spends about a third of his time riffing on China law, another third riffing on China and world trade, and the last third cantankerously whining about everything else. It's good stuff.

2. China Environmental Law. Really good and helpful stuff on China's environment and its environmental laws from Beijing based lawyer who knows both.

3. Experience Not Logic. Law student blog, but don't let that deter you. Will Lewis posts regularly and knowledgably and he speaks his mind. Good stuff.

why complain about 'nepotism'? They said it wasn't democratic. You should know that Danwei isn't the shrillest advocate for democracy by reading it. And we are in guangxi country. This isn't the list, it's the danwei list. Be thankful alternative sites can be touted in the comments.

It does seem like there are a lot of us out there now, much more so than when I moved to China 3 years ago. I'm just kind of getting restarted with a new blog,China Pasticcio, so just looking to add my dribble to the pot. In line with my own tastes, I didn't note any glaring omissions in your list. Much thanks for even trying to keep up with it.

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it is imposible that everytime when the world shows something about tibet china block youtube, it sucks, do you really think the chinese don't knoe the truth?? of course they now it they ask us foreigners for newspapers from oversee, ask us to see our tv ...stp...